This invention relates generally to the optical sensing art and, more specifically to an optical rotational alignment image-sensing and comparing system in which a single strand of optical fiber (i.e., not a "bundle" or other plurality of optical fibers) is a principal component.
It is fair and accurate to say that prior position sensor systems of the optical type which are used to sense the rotation (i.e., mis-alignment or "twist") of a component around, and transverse to, the optical axis of the sensor system, are complicated in structure, are bulky, are costly, are time-consuming to align, require re-alignment after each use, and because of the human factor involved in initial (and, each subsequent necessary) alignment, may not be reliable.
There is, therefore, a continuing need for an optical position sensor system in which the above-mentioned disadvantages are eliminated or, at least, minimized.
This invention fulfills this continuing need; and, thereby, it constitutes a significant advance in the state-of-the-art.